Wooden Handle Glass Fairness Cup 300ml

Glass fairness cup with wooden handle, 300ml

This wooden-handle glass cup is a 300ml fairness cup, also called a gongdao cup or cha hai, that catches the whole pour from a gaiwan or small teapot so the tea can be shared out at the same strength. The handle is solid timber, joined to hand-blown borosilicate glass by a small metal fitting.

Timber in the hand is the first thing you notice. Pick the cup up full of hot tea and the handle stays cool, so there's no gripping it by the rim. The bowl is low and wide, 7 cm across the mouth and 6.5 cm tall, and it sits steady on the tray between pours. Tip it over a row of small cups and the beak spout gives a clean stream that cuts off without a drip.

We like it next to a 150 ml gaiwan. At 300 ml there's room for two infusions before you share, and the clear glass lets you watch the colour deepen from the first steep to the second. With a good oolong or an aged white tea, that's half the pleasure.

Product details

• Capacity: 300 ml
• Mouth width: 7 cm
• Height: 6.5 cm
• Base width: 6.5 cm
• Weight: about 200 g, empty
• Material: heat-resistant borosilicate glass, solid wood handle with metal fitting
• Making: hand-blown

This works well for

• Gongfu sessions with a gaiwan, so each pour has somewhere to land
• Small teapots that empty in one go
• Watching the colour of an oolong or aged white tea change across infusions

It's on the shelf at our Salamanca Tea Bar in Hobart if you'd like to feel the handle before you decide.

Why use a fairness cup

Tea keeps steeping while you pour, so going straight from the gaiwan into cups leaves the first one thin and the last one strong. Pouring into the fairness cup first evens that out, and the clear glass shows you the colour before it goes round.

Care

Hand wash in warm water and let it air dry. Keep the wooden handle out of the dishwasher and don't leave it soaking. Borosilicate glass copes with boiling tea going in, but don't take it from the fridge straight to boiling water. Each cup is hand-blown, so expect small variations and the odd tiny bubble.

Shipping

Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free shipping on orders over $95 Australia-wide. We wrap the glass and pack it in a box with plenty of cushioning.

Related

Cha Hai (Fairness Cup) · Gaiwan · Teapots · Tea Wares